Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Special Comment

3 comments:

Martin
said...

Yep, I saw that last night. It was his best one ever, I think.

He made the good point that marriage has already been redefined many times.

The prohibitions on gay marriage in recent elections may seem like set backs, but even Plessy vs. Ferguson was eventually overturned by legal challenges in the 1950s and 60s. Let's hope it doesn't take 50 years to reverse the recent trend, but the people who support gay marriage bans today are like the segregationists of a century ago. They do not belong to the future.

That was a beautifully spoken statement. I used to hate politics because it seemed like abstract arguments took precedence over our essential humanity. It is really inspiring for me see the political process acting in support and recognition of the fundamental desires we feel in our actual lived experience every day. I think that is one of the gifts of the discussion surrounding Prop 8. As unfortunate as it is that this debate exists at all, I am glad to see so many people publicly affirming our common humanity - I am glad that what have been downplayed as "corny" arguments are being voiced because they are simply true and essential for us to acknowledge as people that co-exist in society together and don't want lives dominated by hate, ignorance, exclusion, and fear.

What a sham this whole situation is. How farcical that a group of people pretending to represent democracy against judicial dictatorialism would make change representative of the most anti-democratic demagoguery imaginable; the kind that strips others of rights for no particular reason.

And how sad that such a group of people would fight so hard for such a measly scrap of.... what?

I recognise Keith's frustration here: what? What.... on earth is there possibly at stake here for these people? Nothing. They have no stake in this.

It's a small comfort to know that the sort of issue-demagoguery that drove the passage of Prop 8 will be left in the bit bucket of history (if it isn’t we are all of us well and truly fucked), but it was hard enough watching the newscasts of people in their sixties getting married. Not to be ageist or anything, but nobody wants to get married to the love of their life after the majority of it has passed them by; nobody should have to fight tooth and nail, only to fail to gain the "privilege" of a little basic recognition from their neighbours - what a sham.